Written by two school psychologists, "A Parent's Guide to Special Education" (AMACOM, $16.95 paper) is a perfunctory intro to the often-bewildering world of school systems for moms and dads of special-needs kids.
The book commendably includes sample forms, like the Individualized Education Program, that parents will encounter in the educational setting. It also contains a helpful glossary of the acronyms and psychological shorthand used at an IEP staffing, which is a meeting of parents, teachers and therapists to assess the student's progress and set goals for the next school year.
But the first half of the book reads like a deadly dull leaflet, and authors Linda Wilmshurst and Alan W. Brue are just plain wrong when they blithely state, "One of the goals of education is to include children with special needs in the regular education classroom as much as possible." For many parents, segregation remains a very real problem, even in 2005.
Hearing from parents who have had to fight the system on behalf of their kids would have made the book much more balanced--and interesting.
A parenting tip: "Reward your child's positive accomplishments with a treat from the `good reward jar.'"